Roya Moltaji, CFP®, Chfc®

While it’s always smart to have a long-range financial strategy, the need for aggressive planning has become more acute in recent years. The current economy makes all types of investors skittish. But Certified Financial Planner Roya Moltaji cautions against waiting for the economy to hit rock bottom.

As Moltaji says, “By the time you feel like it’s time to get in, it’s way too late.”

Moltaji works with her clients to set up a long-term strategy that can withstand Wall Street’s ups and downs.

According to Moltaji, “If you want to talk technically, I work with investments, so I sell mutual funds, stocks, bonds, and that sort of thing. I also sell protection products like life insurance, but selling stuff is not what I consider I do. I help people make tough decisions with their money.”

Moltaji also helps her clients qualify for special tax loopholes and efficiencies; assists small businesses with benefit packages and leadership transitions; and facilitates proper estate planning.

Investment packages always have some degree of risk, but Moltaji believes the single biggest mistake we usually make with our money is to not talk about it.

As Moltaji notes, “Americans are so private with their money. They don’t want to tell anyone what they make or what they have, and unfortunately, that could be dangerous. It gets very difficult when people grow old, or go into a nursing home, and the child has to find everything, and they could be missing a lot of money. There are millions of unclaimed life insurance policies every year, and that’s not good.”

It is especially important for the GLBT community to consult a professional about finances, because most estate and tax laws are written in terms of heterosexual marriage.

Moltaji explains, “You want to make sure that everything you accumulated in life goes to someone you love. And if you love someone of the same sex, apparently the government doesn’t like that, and we’ve got to work around it.”

Unfortunately, because of experiences with homophobia, many gays and lesbians are hesitant to speak with a financial planner.

Moltaji recalls an incident where it wasn’t until she had given a female client her own full background information that the woman was comfortable enough to call her life partner into the room.

As Moltaji puts it, “That is really sad to me, because it is so crucial for GLBT people to be getting proper advice.”